Grizzlies-Thunder Preview

By JEFF LATZKEPosted May 02 2011 5:50PM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The arrival of Kendrick Perkins was expected to give the Oklahoma City Thunder the kind of inside muscle they needed to stand their ground with some of the NBA's beefiest big men.

In the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series with Memphis, it was the Grizzlies who did the bruising.

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined for 54 points and 23 rebounds in leading eighth-seeded Memphis to a road victory in Game 1 for the second straight series. The Grizzlies got 52 points in the paint, more than any team but the Los Angeles Lakers have scored against Oklahoma City with Perkins in the lineup.

"They played physical, they bullied us in the first game," guard James Harden said after practice Monday. "So, the second game, we just have to prepare and go out there and not make excuses and win a game."

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

The Grizzlies, who led the NBA with 51.5 points per game in the paint, averaged a whopping 59 against Oklahoma City while winning the regular-season series 3-1. The Thunder's only win came when Memphis scored 60 points inside but went 10-for-38 outside the paint, including 1 for 15 on 3-pointers.

"We just have to pack the paint," Harden said. "Pack the paint, clog it up, make them shoot outside jump shots. They lead the league in paint points, so we have to cover that up."

Randolph has set the Grizzlies' playoff scoring record in back-to-back games, with 31 points in Game 6 against top-seeded San Antonio and then 34 - along with 10 rebounds - in Game 1 at Oklahoma City.

He's had three games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds against the Thunder.

"I think Zach showed you how much he can do if they don't double-team him," teammate Darrell Arthur said. "And if they do double-team, he's such a great passer out of the post that it doesn't really matter."

Randolph has become one of the stars of the playoffs, a player with no history of postseason success during his 10-year career leading a franchise that had never won a playoff series until knocking off top-seeded San Antonio a few days ago.

He was better known for some run-ins with the law. But after bouncing from Portland to New York to the Los Angeles Clippers, he has found a fit in Memphis.

"I think Zach is the epitome of life," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "When we're young people, we make mistakes. We do things that we shouldn't do, and we grow and become better men. Whether it's in this game or in life, that's what this world is all about."

Randolph has looked unstoppable, even against a front line that added Perkins - one of the NBA's top low-post defenders - at the trade deadline in February. The move allowed Serge Ibaka, the league's top shot blocker, to move from center to his natural power forward position.

Coach Scott Brooks thought the Thunder did a decent job of getting Randolph and Gasol out of the areas where they're strongest, but it still wasn't good enough.

"Zach made eight shots from the perimeter. There's nothing you can do about that, other than pushing him outside a few extra feet and crowding his space. Gasol made four jump shots, and that's not his strength of his game," Brooks said. "But they made them and give them credit. They stepped up and they made those shots."

Gasol went 4 for 4 on jumpers from at least 14 feet and Randolph hit eight jumpers from at least 10 feet out, including a 3-pointer.

"We can shoot the ball, pick and roll. It ain't just coming down and throwin' it in the post," Randolph said. "We can do different stuff a lot of the other big guys can't do."

Perkins said "that wasn't Thunder basketball (Sunday), and it's going to be a different game tomorrow."

"It wasn't nothing like they had a lot of shots in the paint. He hit a lot of outside shots (Sunday) - contested, tough shots at that - so you're not overreacting to nothing," Perkins said. "I feel like we just didn't play our game.

"I don't get too much concerned about what the other team's doing. I'm always concerned about what we do."

The Grizzlies - who led the NBA in steals and turnovers forced - also scored 23 points off of 18 Oklahoma City turnovers and 22 second-chance points off of 17 offensive rebounds.

"That has to change," Brooks said. "We have to get better in those areas because that's their strength, and they had their way with their strength. We don't want that to happen."

Brooks said he was hesitant to double-team Randolph too much because he's become a quality passer when the Grizzlies send players cutting to the basket.

"There's only so many things you can do on a basketball court," Randolph said. "They could double-team me and push me baseline. There's only two things. I've seen almost anything, so I'll be ready for whatever they throw at me."

Copyright 2011 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Bench leads Thunder past Grizzlies to even series

By JEFF LATZKEPosted May 04 2011 2:54AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kevin Durant's supporting cast came alive to keep the Oklahoma City Thunder out of a perilous 0-2 hole in the Western Conference semifinals.

Durant scored 26 points, James Harden led an outburst by Oklahoma City's bench with 21, and the Thunder evened their series with Memphis by beating the Grizzlies 111-102 in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

After scoring just 16 points in a Game 1 loss, the Thunder's bench tripled that amount and put Oklahoma City firmly in control with an 18-6 run to start the fourth quarter.

"It was a classic desperate team, more aggressive team," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "I say the desperate team usually wins, and they were the desperate team in their play, which was a sense of urgency and aggressiveness.

"That's what they've done all year, and that's why we are in this position, because they've done either a good job of catching up or extending leads," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "I thought they were outstanding tonight."

Mike Conley scored 24 for Memphis, which cut a 21-point, fourth-quarter deficit to six in the final minute.

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined to make just five of 22 shots for 28 points - just over half their total from the opener. The interior tandem helped Memphis dominate the paint for 52 points in Game 1, but the Thunder outscored the Grizzlies 38-34 this time by deploying frequent double-teams.

The Thunder finally shook free from Memphis with the bench's big run, featuring three 3-pointers by Maynor and seven points from Harden.

Harden hit three free throws - including one after Darrell Arthur was called for a technical for bumping him in retaliation - then turned a steal into a fast-break layup. Maynor's third 3 gave Oklahoma City its first 20-point lead at 94-74 with 7:27 remaining, and Daequan Cook followed about a minute later with another 3 to bump the lead to 21.

The Thunder made their first four 3-pointers to start the fourth.

When Maynor and Cook finally were pulled in favor of Durant and Westbrook with just under 5 minutes left, the pair got a standing ovation.

"I expect James Harden especially and Eric Maynor to have at least one big game in the series," Grizzlies forward Sam Young said. "They are great players and they are in this position for a reason.

"We expect big things out of them and that's why we have to prepare a little better and come out next game with more intensity."

Game 3 is Saturday night in Memphis.

"It's going to be a physical series and it's going to be long. We didn't think it would be easy," Gasol said.

"We go home with a split and that's better than 0-2."

Conley hit two 3-pointers and converted a three-point play during a 19-5 comeback that got Memphis within 104-98 with 46 seconds left, before Westbrook and Nick Collison made a pair of free throws apiece to close it out.

"We just didn't have enough fight in us," Hollins said.

The Thunder lost starting power forward Serge Ibaka - who blocked the most shots in the NBA in the regular season - to an apparent right knee injury with 2:09 remaining in the game. He hobbled to the locker room after fouling Conley and crashing to the floor along the baseline.

Ibaka had been late out of the locker room at halftime after hurting his knee late in the first half, but rode a stationary bike in a tunnel before returning to the game in the third.

"When I was in the game, I was fine," said Ibaka, who had both ice on both knees in the locker room. "After a timeout, when I would stand up to go on the court, that's when I would feel it."

"We've got three days off," he added, "so I hope to be OK."

Randolph, the star of Game 1 with a playoff career-high 34 points, made only two of his 13 shots and scored 15 points. Gasol was 3 for 9 for 13 points and hauled in 10 rebounds. Randolph had nine boards.

But neither was close to being as effective as in the opener.

"It's a physical game. We just tried to be more focused and more physical and more aggressive, to get contact first," Ibaka said. "That's what we did."

"You can't turn the ball over and play good defense at the same time. It just doesn't work that way," Hollins said. "I just thought we turned it over way too much and we settled way too much."

Still, they're heading home with home-court advantage after an upset in the opener and will continue their quest to become the first No. 8 seed to reach the Western Conference finals.

The Thunder got out to a 28-17 lead after the first quarter by keeping Memphis off of the offensive glass and holding Randolph and Gasol in check. The inside tandem started Game 1 going a perfect 7 for 7, but made just one of seven attempts in the first period this time.

Memphis got within 36-33 midway through the second quarter when Arthur made a hook shot after the Grizzlies' fourth offensive rebound on a single possession, but Durant rallied Oklahoma City to restore the lead.

He followed a fallaway 16-footer along the right baseline with a steal and a fast-break layup, punctuating it with a swinging fist pump before stepping to the line to finish his three-point play. The Thunder lead reached a dozen before Conley's 20-foot jumper in the final second made it 54-44 at halftime.

NOTES: The Grizzlies' first offensive rebound didn't come until Gasol grabbed one with 24 seconds left in the first quarter, with his team down 11. ... After the Thunder had lost at home in Game 1, Durant watched Monday night as Chicago and the Los Angeles Lakers followed suit but didn't make too much of the developing trend. "I was just worried about us and how we could get better," Durant said. ... A fan, Roman Owen, hit a halfcourt shot in the break following the third quarter to win $20,000.

Copyright 2011 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Thunder-Grizzlies notebook

By Randy Renner, for NBA.comPosted Wednesday May 4, 2011 1:58AM

THE FACTS: What a difference a couple of days can make. From a dominating performance by Memphis in Game 1 to a dominating performance by Oklahoma City (at least for the most part) in Game 2. OKC led by 21 points in the fourth quarter but then had to hold off a late Grizzlies rally to win 111-102 and even up the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. In the first game of the series Memphis forward Zach Randolph ripped the Thunder for 34 points, but Tuesday night he managed just 15, 11 of them coming at the free-throw line. Randolph hit just two of his 13 shots. Memphis point guard Mike Conley led his team with 24 points. OKC's Kevin Durant led all scorers with 26 points, his All-Star Game teammate Russell Westbrook added 24. The Thunder bench was the big story as reserves James Harden (21 points) and Eric Maynor (15 points) finished with career playoff highs. As a whole the OKC bench out-scored the Memphis bench 48-29. Oklahoma City's defense tightened up on Randolph and center Marc Gasol and forced the Grizzlies into 16 turnovers while limiting their points in the paint to just 34. Thunder power forward Nick Collison did most of the work on Randolph. The Thunder and Grizzlies now head to Memphis with the series tied 1-1.

QUOTABLE: "We really didn't do anything different (on Randolph) but we were more engaged as a team. We were able to knock him off some of his spots and I thought Nick (Collison) did a good job of just keeping a body on him and not giving him easy points."-- Thunder coach Scott Brooks

QUOTABLE II: "They were just more aggressive, they came out and attacked us and just didn't have enough fight in us."-- Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins

THE STAT: After giving up 52 points in the paint to Memphis in Game 1, Oklahoma City cut that number down to just 34 points Tuesday night. OKC scored 38 points down low.

TURNING POINT: After leading by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, Oklahoma City pushed the lead all the way to 21 (97-76) with 6:21 to go in the game. That proved to be too high a mountain for the Grizzlies to climb even with a 22-7 spurt toward the end of the game to close within six with less than a minute to play. The Thunder hit their free throws to close the game out.

QUOTABLE III: "We talked about it before the game even started, 'Let's not come out like we did in San Antonio in game two (of that series, a loss). We weren't focused as a group and this is the kind of result you get."-- Memphis guard Tony Allen

HOT: In the first quarter Oklahoma City shot 61.1 percent. Westbrook (3-for-4), James Harden (3-for-4), Kevin Durant (2-for-3) and Eric Maynor (2-for-2) were a combined 10-for-13 (76.9 percent). At halftime OKC was shooting 56.8 percent. Point guards Westbrook (6-for-9) and Maynor (3-for-3) were a combined 9-for-12 (75 percent). Memphis point guard Conley was 5-for-7. Maynor finished the game 6-for-7 and scored a career playoff-high 15 points. Harden also finished with a career playoff-high (21 points) on 5-for-9 shooting. Conley ended with a career playoff-high, too, (24 points) on 10-for-15 shooting.

NOT: In the first quarter Memphis shot just 29.4 percent. Randolph (0-for-3) and Gasol (1-for-4) were a combined 1-for-7 (14.3 percent). At halftime Randolph (2-for-8) and Gasol (1-for-5) were a combined 3-for-13 (23.1 percent). Randolph finished with one of his worst shooting nights (2-for-13). Gasol ended 3-for-9.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Several thousand fans arrived early and enjoyed a block party outside Oklahoma City Arena with live bands and games for the kids. More Thunder blue T-shirts inside the arena. NBA "Superfan" James Goldstein again sat courtside opting for Oklahoma City rather than South Beach to watch Boston and Miami. Between the third and fourth quarters Thunder fan Roman Owen hit a half-court shot to win $20,000. It's the third time this season someone has hit the big money shot.

GOOD MOVE: In the first quarter Thunder shooting guard James Harden reaches in and pokes the ball away from Memphis guard O.J. Mayo then leads a fast break. Harden tosses over to Westbrook who fakes a move to the basket and passes back to Harden who is fouled.

GOOD MOVE II: Memphis guard Allen, guarding Durant closely, doesn't go for the fake and reaches in to steal the ball. The Griz don't score off Allen's work, though, as Sam Young misses his shot at the other end.

BAD MOVE: Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez tries a pass inside but his toss is too soft and it's intercepted by Maynor, who races down court for a layup. Moments later Maynor does the same thing to Gasol, who also tries a careless pass. Maynor intercepts and finishes with another layup.

NOTABLE: Oklahoma City is now 23-6 in games following a loss this season. ... Thunder forward Serge Ibaka left the game in the second quarter with a bruised knee but returned in the third quarter. Ibaka left again in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be an ankle injury and did not return to the game.